swallowtail

I am employed as a delivery driver, with a CDI contract. In July 2010 I had a back operation, and have been off since. Yesterday, I had an appointment with the médecin du travail, and in her opinion, I am not able to continue with the job, however, she wants the opinion of an expert, and I have an appointment with the surgeon next week. In the meantime, she mentioned being reclassed through COTOREP, and a dossier needs to be prepared. Has anyone any experience with COTOREP, and what can I expect from them, ie help, money etc. Anyway advice is very much appreciated. Thanks

merci beaucoup pour vos conseils.

I hope this the right place for this post, as it is a health issue as well. I have a CDI contract, and work as a delivery driver. In Feb last year, I hurt my back, and in July I had an operation. I am much better, had an appointment with the doctor at CPAM, who are stopping my money at the beginning of March. Tomorrow I have an appointment with the work's doctor who will decide if i am fit enough to return to work or not. Anyway, there are 3 options, I am fit to go back to my previous post, I am not fit, but can take another role in the company, or none of these and become part of COTOREP, as handicapped. Yesterday, I went to see my boss to explain the situation, and for him, the best option is COTOREP, as he needs to have a proportion of disabled people working in the company. For me it is to return to my job as normal. Now, my question is, has he an obligation to let me return to my job, and could he say there is no job for me and effectively make me redundant? I have a good relationship with him, but our interests differ. He also said to me that if I am off sick longer than I vave worked there, he can basically show me the door. However, I have one week on my side. Sorry for going on, but any sound advice is much appreciated, by the way it is not classified as an accident at work.

Thanks for the information, my Class C is valid until 2014, and has a restriction 70 RU. ? However, I take it that to drive professionally here in France, I need to take a FIMO. Thanks again.

I had a Class C license in the UK, and applied for a French driving license. I had a medical for the Class C here in France, passed, and my French license now has Class C on it. Is this valid as it stands, or do I still need to take a FIMO? If anyone could clarify this Then I would be very grateful.....thanks

Thanks Will, that's exactly what I meant, no problem then thank's again

How does it work with being self-employed, working from home, whilst at the same time being an employee. Basically, is it possible do do both at the same time? Thanks in advance.  

I am going to open a made to measure, curtain and blind mail order business, making up people's own fabric, for English clients all over France. Where is the best place to advertise my services in order to reach all expats.

I walk my dog through the local woods, and 3 weeks ago some old fellow cut down a massive oak tree which fell into the woods. He took the bulk of it and left loads. I said to him, "are you leaving this"?, "yes" he said. So, I took my saw, and filled my van up twice with wood for next year. The next day he returned for the rest of his wood, a few leaves and a dog pooh later he left. He owns the woods.  

Thanks ever so much for your quick response, it's better news than I thought. All the best.

I hope someone can help me. My HGV2 license expired in July 2008. I didn't get it renewed, as I thought my driving days were over. Never say never! Anyway, my question is, do I have to re-take the test here in France, and start from scratch? or, is it possible to take a medical and back date the renewal? probably naive thinking! Any information would be grateful. Thanks in advance.

I am a bloke, and I think the fact that you have changed as a person is very meaningful. For me, and it is only my personal opinion,  without seeing the person on a day to day level, experiencing the same things, talking, sharing the same space, enjoying the moments you have together, smelling each other, laughing together, eating together and growing together as people, then one misses out on fundamental human needs. It seems to me that you don't need him anymore, and in all probability, you don't love him anymore, and the fact that you experience resentment towards him is a sign that you don't even like him! I think you really should tell him exactly how you feel, be honest, be brave and what follows will follow. After all, it can't be any worse than what you are experiencing now. Maybe he will  change, move to France, and recharge your relationship. You know him, you know what he is like, and in all likelihood you probably know yourself what the outcome will be. I know it's hard, and emotionally draining, and 30yrs is a hell of a long time to be with someone, but if you are stressed out, and unhappy then make steps to change it. I believe that everyone can change if they want to, and especially if that means losing someone close to you. Shirley Valentine got her man!!!  

Death is a strange phenomenon for people, and everyone deals with it in their own individual way. Why not meet someone else and have a relationship with them? After all, people keep saying, life is short, you will meet someone else, you will never forget the times you had but you have to move on in life, etc etc. My sister-in-law lost her husband last year,(52 trs old), and she has a full length photo by her bed and talks to him all the time, sees a clarivoyant, who tells her that he is always present, but also that she will meet a new lover in 2 years time!! It's not a matter of age, it is a reality that death is part of the process of life, and the realisation that death can happen to any of us at any given moment, is perhaps a driving force for us to make the most of our time whilst we can.  Of course, it's difficult for children to come to terms with the death of a parent, and a new person who fills the void, but again, this is a reality. I think that in time, people come to realise that we are social beings with a need for closeness, love, affection and companionship etc. With death comes all the emotions of loss, anger, guilt, pain etc, and these have to be experienced and dealt with before any real progress can be made in accepting the new reality, that mum or dad is with someone else who they love and care for. It's not easy, but to live a life of bitterness and resentment is even harder and probably more damaging, unhealthy and miserable, which will affect future relationships. I don't know if any of this helps you, but it is better to be open. After all, life is short and we are all fragile, and we all have needs that need to be fulfilled. I think, respect for the dead is not the issue. Perhaps, your friend is escaping, and transferring his feelings onto another person, maybe he has found a true love?  Whatever, he has made a choice and this has to be respected. As Simone de Beavoir said to Jean-Paul Satre, "your death will seperate us, my death will not bring us back together again"  

Well well well, we are in 04 region and still wearing shorts and sandals.

Hello Callie, thank you ever so much for your time. I have got a good idea of what is required now, so out of the country and into the city I go. All the best. Swallowtail

Thanks ever so much for that. It is an evening occasion, dinner and dance and the wedding is at 5pm.  What then would be the absolute, no mistake attire for my wife and I to wear. We live in the country, 04, walk in the mountains, outside people, and I just want to be spot on with this, especially as part of the invitation makes a reference to people coming by helicopter! It means nothing to me, but I just want to be comfortable in the environment I am in for the evening. Be specific, Merci D'avance

My cousin is getting married in Sainte Maxime next month. The invitation says Black Tie, and I am unsure of the appropriate attire for myself and my wife. Has anyone any experience of a black tie wedding and willing to offer some advice. I have looked it up, but some sites say it's different for warmer climates, and a cocktail dress or a full length dress for the woman. Merci d'avance.  

Thanks for that thread, very interesting, and they live in those cobwebs in the trees. There are hundreds of them around. Any more butterfly threads is very much appreciated.

Hello Chris,  great idea with the recording of butterflies. We are moving to France in 2 weeks, 04 region, near Dignes les Baines, where there is a fantastic butterfly garden, lots of species and dedicated butterfly people. We will go to see them and offer our services and hopefully have some involvement with photos, conservation etc. We have been taking photos of butterflies for a couple of years now and have quite an extensive album, some we haven't been able to identify yet. I was in the Gorge du Trevan last week and found some small blues, whites and loads of orange tips. Also, found a few trails of catterpillars about 1/2 metre long ambling up the path.  Never seen that before.  Looking forward to the summer.

To be honest, the land we bought is only about 20 mts long by 4 mts wide, and there are designated paths around us. This very small, and pretty insignificant piece of land is basically used as a shortcut to a couple of towers which are popular with locals and tourists. The mairie has asked for a designated width, or as he says, with wheelchair access. It is steep and in places quite rocky, and I would applaud anyone who gets up it in a quad bike let alone a wheelchair! For us, it  is something to grow herbs and flowers, and there is a small ruin attached which we were going to renovate into a terrace above, and storage for wood beneath. I will investigate all our options, but my gut feeling is we will have to compromise. The notaire, I believe, didn't do her job properly, as the last meeting we had with her, which also involved the mayor by telephone, she didn't charge us for. I think she felt somehow responsible. Anyway, we will see, there are many people with more pressing issues than us. I suppose the most worrying aspect is that we have an apparantely official path running through our terrace. So, the solution must be, for the mayor to rewrite the boundaries, give us our terrace officially, and he can have his wheelchair access.

Thanks for that, a peaceful existence is what I am after, so I think a little more research is necessary in order to clarify the status of the path, and the outcome of this will determine any future action. Once again,thanks

Yes, the notaire who overseen the land purchase, was also the notaire who overseen our house purchase. At no point when buying our house was there mention of a path running through our terrace. She was quite surprised by the mayor's demand for either access through our land, or the demolition of our terrace. We showed her photos of the land, and she tried to persuade the mayor to change his mind, but to no avail. Apparently, one of the villagers complained that the English were buying all the land. The mayor said he couldn't please all the people all of the time. Our friends in the village say he sits on two chairs at the same time. It's a crazy situation, as we bought both land and house in good faith, without knowledge of these paths. The mayor showed us an ancient plan of the village, pointing out that the path ran directly through our terrace, then why was the terrace allowed to be built? Also, if we hadn't bought the land, and our neighbour closed it off, would we still be threatened with the demolition of our terrace?  Somehow, I am not convinced of the legality of his decision, and feel that there must be a higher law. I dislike confrontation, but really want to challenge, but am unsure as to what is the right direction forward. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

We have had a house in 04 region for 4 years. Last year, we bought a small piece of land from our neighbour, with the intention of turning it into a small garden. I tidied it up, terraced it and basically prepared it for planting. However, a couple of neighbours complained, and it transpires that the land we bought was used as an informal path leading up to a tourist attraction in the village, and that the original path actually goes through our terrace. We were not aware of this when we bought the house. We went to the mairie to clarify the issue, and was told that there was nothing he could do, and if we were to close the path off, he would demand the demolition of our terrace. We then went back to the notaire, and had a 3 way conversation with the mayor, the notaire and ourselves. The mayor wouldn't budge, but said as a compromise we would have to make a path available for locals and tourists. Has he the right to demand the demolition of our terrace if we decide to close our garden off? The terrace has been there for at least 25 years and there are different routes to the attraction, so I think we are being treated unfairly. Any ideas on how best to proceed, bearing in mind we want to keep garden and terrace.